"The Treasure of Set" is an adventure set in my setting of the Armorican Kingdoms.Information for the character types I want, and a lot of info on the setting, can be found here: The Armorican Kingdoms [Setting Forge thread]We won't be using stats. They get in the way of roleplaying.Here are some ground rules for the game:1. My word is LAW!2. Absolutely NO MUNCHKINISM! -Munchkinism is hereby defined as: Power-gaming, god-moding, playing a sorceror character, and/or controlling/killing off/otherwise affecting mine or others' NPCs without permission.3. I want to keep this moving so it won't stagnate and die. If you don't post for five days, we'll go on without you, unless you provide a decent reason for not posting.4. See Rule #1.5. Also, follow all rules not hereby outlined that are outlined in the Freeform Rules in the regular Freeform board.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The crash of the waves sounded on the rocky cliffs of the Chargian coastline, booming like the shouts of the Sea Gods across the pre-dawn calm. The forest, couched like a dormant beast upon the headland, was dark, but a single flame glimmered on the marge of sea and stone.The flame was a torch-light, and the hand that grasped it was that of a man, large in stature, and mighty of thew. He had the light brown hair of an Alsson, the high cheekbones of an Arcturan, and the aquiline nose of them both. He wore a heavy iron breastplate, with several prominent dents and scratches, and a wool tunic and baggy breeches of northern make. Rope sandals kept his feet from blistering, though the Chargian forest floor was soft and springy. A tattered black cloak, hood thrown back, draped his shoulders. Various leather packages and cases hung from a girdle on his hips. A single pauldron of Arcturan Imperial make spoke to an Legionare background.Alssonus Proximo Gracchus, always wanderer, always adventurer, oft-times gladiator, frequent outlaw, swept northwards along the coast, following tales of treasure and adventure in a cove to the north of his former lodging, the Chargian seaside settlement of Meimeda.He had been told that to the north, in a cove, there was an old, abandoned holt, dug into the cliffs. It was said that it had been the former home of the infamous pirate, Ezagros, called the Glaive of Bazzeis Coast. The pirate, of course, would have had treasure, and he would have stored some of it, at least, in his holt.But there, ahead of him, there was a fire-light in the forest, and gruff voices sounded, shattering the stillness."Labba, ye're a cheat! 'Dem dice is loaded!" "Why, I amn't! Roll 'em, they ain't loaded! Ye'll see!" "Aw, shaddup, you two!" "Oi' want me money back!"Alssonus frowned, and, hand on his sword-pommel, went to investigate.

A large schooner pitched and rolled on the open seas it's sail were pale gray and it flew no flag. Radothite pirates were feared but not widely known, a large Radothite man, stood on next to the helmmans that steered the ship, he was huge. He stood 6'8" and had shoulder's nearly half that. He was thickly muscled and salt air had given his skin a pale leathery look. His coal black hair was pulled back in a braid that reached his torso, he was a fearsome to his Radothite crew who none could match his girth. He carried a broad sword, and a couple of daggers, the broad sword's hilt was wrapped with plain black leath and two small short gray tassels.

The silent captain nodded and the ship put anchor down in a small cove and the Captain with some of the best raiders of the crew rowed ashore to to a small outlet that was on the lip of the cove. The ominous man grinned his rival, the infamous Ezagros had died some time ago but news was just reaching him only a few monthes before. The ominous man grinned today was a good day for treasure huntin'.

* * * * * *

Rannu rowed hard, if he did anything less Smilsu, the slave master, was likely to whip him again. There were already a latice work of scars on his back from years of work on the Bloody Gullet that was the name of Cap'n Skarnu's ship. Skarnu...

If Rannu wasn't shackled to the row boat he wood have used one of the oars to mash Skarnu's head in. But Skarnu was clever and had kept him shackled all the time. Rannu kept on rowing towards the shore, maybe this time, this time he could escape...

Celia walked alone through the forest. She was a smallish woman, and her light hair and round features proclaimed her to be of Zinaldian stock. She wore a dress typical of the style of her country, and a sash about her waist. This sash, which was a light gray piece of material embroidered with a pattern of dice, was her mark of office. She was a wandering gambler-priestess of Fortuna the chance goddess, which was why she seemed unconcerned that something might happen. Lady Fortuna watched over her clerics. She frowned as she caught some words drifting through the forest. Someone was arguing about loaded dice. Celia supposed she should look into it; loaded dice were an affront to Fortuna, and if the dice weren't loaded, she might be able to prevent bloodshed. She started in the direction of the voices, and soon saw a firelight.

Callistreinistrelau wanders cheerily throughout the forest, hopelessly lost, and loving every minute of it. The excitement of the darkness - why, at any moment a wolf might leap out at him! How exciting! He could smell the sea nearby, though, and wondered if he had found the end to these trees finally. For a moment, he had thought he had gotten his wish about the wolves when the sound of footsteps through the forest sounded, And he actually seemed a little disappointed as a woman emerged from the bushes, heading towards a set of voices which he only now heard. He grinned, though, at Celia and made his way to her before walking in the same direction as her whilst peering up to her face "Hello there! What do you thinks going on over there? They sure are loud huh? Well lets go to investigate! Im Calistreinistrelau by the way! Whats your na..." His enslaught of words (Spoken in common, since he is aware this woman probably wouldnt speak his tongue) halts momentarily as his bare feet trip on a protruding tree root, as he had been looking up at the woman, not where he is going. He lands flat on his face.

Alssonus crept closer, shoulder against a tree trunk, and slowly peered around. There, in the clearing, burned a fire, shoddily contained, he could see. Four greasy-looking men sat in varying languid postures about the clearing.Two of them, a small, mousy man in an overlarge tunic, and an enourmously fat man with a heavy beard, glared at each other over a set of dice and a small purse sat in front of the fat one, presumably the "Ludda" whom the loaded dice had been attributed to. They argued in low tones with each other. Another man sat, ripping bits of meat from a bone, next to them, jabbing a figure sleepily at the purse.However, Alssonus' eyes were immediately drawn to the man who leaned, whittling a stick, against a tree at the other end of the clearing. He was a military man, by the look of him, a deserter, most likely. He had the look of a Marcosian, being blonde and large and heavy-chinned. He wore a heavy sark of mail which was in much better condition than the clothing of the others. A broadsword lay in the grass next to him.Immediately, Alssonus thought "Bandits."Then, "Nothing I can't handle."He drew out his longsword, and, after a moment's hesitation, stepped into the clearing."Whoi, what 'ave we 'ear, boys?" said the one called Ludda.The whittler looked up. "Let's do what the Black &^%$@ is paying us for, boys." he grated, and brandished his sword.The other bandits, or mercenaries, it seemed, leapt to their feet and soon bristled with weaponry. The little one bore twin daggers, Ludda a rusted axe of some sort, and the other, face still spattered with meat, bore a gruesome-looking rust-caked saber.Alssonus swept his swordpoint forward. "Have at thee!"

A small pirate camp lay on the beach it seemed to the remants of the infamoues Ezagros had taken up in the old pirate base. Skarnu drew his rapier and twenty other men did likewise. As soon as the boast touched shore all of them were over the sides and rushing the scrawny pirates. Skarnu set among a large muscled man that had blackened teeth and an eye patch over one eye. Skarnu parried the ugly's thrust with his cutlass, and Skarnu stabbed the ugly through the neck. Blooded gushed out, and spilled all over the sand.

The small band of abandon pirates threw down their weapons after a short exchange and surrendered. Skarnu surveyed them. He pointed at three of them the biggest and meanest looking ones, "Kill the rest." Their a few screams and then silence. He studied the map, "Get Rannu."

* * * * * *

Rannu ran like a be beast possessed he had pulled his chains out of their morring when the crew had gone ashore, and used the chain to knock Smilsu out cold.

Rannu ran his feet were bloody, cut and hurt bad, but he ran on. Chains russled as he ran through brush and forest. Rannu ran so fast that when he stumbled apong the five men he hardly noticed it till he plum ran over the short wiry man with daggers.

Celia looked down at the man where he lay sprawled on the ground, then laughed and helped him up. As she did, she heard what sounded like the beginnings of a fight in the clearing ahead. "Goodness. 'Tis a good thing that you showed up and that you tripped, because we might have walked into a fight otherwise." Her tone suggests that she isn't the least bit surprised. "I suppose, though, that between the two of us, we might have an advantage." She paused, then said, "Oh! My name is Celia."

Callis rose with the help of the woman and nodded happily - not in the least upset that he just tripped. "Me? No Im not that great at fighting! Good to meet you Celia! Lets go join in!" The Halecan had a pleasant little grin on his face - He seemed not to realise, or perhaps not care, that he just said he was no good at fighting, and either way, he turned now, but not before shifting a hand out to grab at Celia's wrist and attempt to pull her along with him - though he is a small man, and she could easily break free if he even managed to grab ahold of her in the first place. He made his way forth all the same, his short legs jogging him straight into the clearing. A small giggle of joy passed his lips as he saw the band of ruffians bieng attacked.

The mercenaries fanned out, advancing in a line on Alssonus, who watched each one for weak points.When the nearest one, the skinny man, rushed to attack, the adventurer skipped lightly to one side, observing the ruffian's dagger thrusts. He quickly noted that the little rat of a man favored his right side. So, he ducked to the left, and, blade flashing in the firelight, cleaved downward. A screech of pain and a gout of blood filled his sight and ears.For a moment, he grinned. Then, he remembered the mercenaries at his back. He whirled around to face them.The captain nodded to Lubba and the other, and some silent communication passed between them. Then, with a shout, they charged forward at him, blades raised. Alssonus rolled forward and bulled the corpulent Lubba over, kicking him in the face. He flailed out to the side collapsing the other swordwielder, leaving only the captain standing, who he turned to face.In the corner of his sight, two figures stood just outside the clearing, but he had not time to concern himself with them.With blinding quickness he and the captain locked swords.

Skarnu was furious somehow that d**n slave Rannu had gotten away again, frustrated but he had other slaves. He brought two others and they set out deeper into the cove, thick trees and brush slowed down the passage to a crawl. Skarnu's ice cold eyes studied the map he carried, he had a hard time making heads or tails of it. "Vartu get over here and tell me what you make of this?"

* * *

Rannu stood heaving watching the two men battle it out, one he didn't recongnize but the other man looked like him. He didn't have a big familiarity like of family but more the same features of Rannu's race. Except for his decaesed parents and a few faces he had never seen one who looked like himself before. He stared in amazement. Rannu himself looked worse for wair, his red gold hair has thin and cut short. His skin was pale with the onset of scurvy almost. He had no shirt and the pants he did have were tattered and extremely old. Aslo to shackles trapped his wrist each of which had some chain links leading off, and splinters of wood from where he had ripped them out when the pirates were distracted.

Celia watched the fight from her place on the edge of the clearing. She wouldn't know which side to take, or if she should take any side at all. It wouldn't have made much difference any way: she didn't have a weapon. She had a walking-stick, true, that she knew how to use, but they had swords. As she stood there musing, a sharp crack rang through the clearing. Looking up instinctively, she saw that a large dead branch had broken, and was plummeting towards the two combants. "Look out!" she cried in Arcturan, not knowing if it would make a difference.

Alssonus heard the cry, and leapt just in time, dodging from under the scything blade of the mercenary captain.With a snap of breaking bones, the captain fell beneath the heavy branch. A scream escaped his lips, and his sword spun away into the fire.Alssonus looked around the clearing. Standing at the edge were to folk, both blonde-haired, though the woman seemed taller and darker-skinned. Another figure stood in the shadows, but Alssonus could not descry its features.He approached the captain, who mumbled incoherently and reached out towards him, blood dripping from his mouth.The adventurer said "Mercy, mercy my friend."With a quick slash, he severed the man's head, bringing an end to that poltroon's career. He turned to the people at the edges."You can come out, now."

Callis made his way forth merrily as the man beckoned them and he walked up to the large male, "Hello there! I'm Callistreinistrelau! Who are you? Your certainly good at fighting, I wish I could have helped." He pauses briefly in his words to shift his gaze to the others, then to the dead bodies, before turning back up to look at Alssonus, grinning pleasantly.

Rannu took a careful step forward, the links of chain rattled a little, but he didn't care really. Careful of anyinthg he might trip over he walked up, "Ahuy" He said in Arcturan with a bad Radothite accent, "I mean hellu." He looked from one to the other odd people indeed but far better than any of his past accquianticaces.

Celia stepped forward. "I am Celia. You are obviously favored by Fortuna, sir." Celia felt that that was enough justification for her to stay around him for a little while. She glanced at the other fellow. This was going to prove interesting.

Alssonus gazed around the clearing, grinned, and sheathed his sword."I am Alssonus Proximo Gracchus, late of Iberia, then here." He bowed chivalrously towards Celia, and nodded towards the Halecan, whose name he had already forgotten. He turned towards the chain-bearing man with the curious accent."Greetings. How are you called, milord?"

Alssonus strained through the man's thickly accented Imperial, and then started, as shouts rang through the woods."Well...Martinus....Sounds like your," he gazed at the man's chains, "owners are after you!"He looked around the clearing and then said "I suppose I could be hanged for aiding an escaped helot, but..." he shrugged as he trailed off. "Follow me!"With that he began to run east. As he passed Celia and Callis, he said "You'd better come, too!"

Celia fell into step beside Alssonus. She was still supremely unconcerned. "I think Fortuna might favor us at the moment," she said quietly. "But it's never a bad idea to be prepared." She shifted her grip on her walking stick. Through her long association with the goddess, Celia had learned that Fortuna became impatient with those who relied on her too heavily. She concentrated on running.

Alssonus dashed ahead and, promptly, tumbled off the edge of a small ditch, slamming his head on a gnarled root.Lurching to his feet, he grabbed his head and looked up the slope to find those who followed him. His eyes travelled to the ditch he stood in, and then grasped onto the sight that he saw down the neat hallway of trees:The Pirate's Den.There it was, in the distance, like a massive fang of rock stabbing into the air, raised by some long-ago, forgotten gigantomachia. He could barely discern his surface, but he had been told that it was the out-thrusting of the cliffs that surrounded the cove, and that the treasures he sought were within.He called out "Come! We'd best get moving!" and began to run along the ditch towards that view.

OOC: Do you all want to move along and just assume Shadow is traveling with us because of all the down time he is having lately?

IC:

Martinus ran with Alssonus but every step he took the chains rattled and chinked that drew the pirate raiders to him. Martinus was in good shape because of his labors and slaving for Skarnu. Running was odd for Martinus being on a scooner most of life he had never to run much nor had the energy to do any. His running was clusmy and he felt like most of the time he would trip over a slight rise of knarled root.

* * * *

Skarnu knelt down every ten paces or so, a broken branch and twig here a muddy foot print there Rannu was running fast but he was sloppy Skarnu would catch up with him sooner or later. He walked into a small clearing a gruesome scene had taken out three men laid dead and a fourth with his head removed from the rest of him. This wasn't the work of Rannu, some had been through here and slaughtered these deserters easily, the sword work was some of the best he'd scene in a while. He remembered this style when he had raided an Arcturan outpost, but this was finer work of a vetran.

This would be a problem Rannu's tracks along with the Arcturans lead off in another direction with two others that were smaller.

Callis, caught up in the thrill of adventure, followed the group happily, his smaller legs working harder to keep up with the group. Upon reaching that ditch, Callis diligently followed the large Arcturans lead and tumbled off the edge, rolling down a ways before coming to a halt and slowly rising to his feet. His gaze follows Alssonus's towards that outcropping of rock, and a steady grin slowly, but steadily, grew upon his lips. "Well... would you look at that! Those rocks certainly are large, arent they? Why... They might even put the rocks my cousin Jelliscralephineloth's climbed to shame! Of course, he climbed up those rocks to find the eggs of an eagle. A trader in the moldy-ale tavern told him they tasted quite good. O'course, he never told my cousin that eagles would attack those who tried to steal their eggs! The poor fellow only has one eye now. So now everyone just calls him..." And so on and so forth, went Callis's tale, and he would continue speaking until either told to shut up, or perhaps when something dramatic happens. He even managed to continue his stream of words as they ran towards those rocks, weaving in and out between each of his travelling companions to make sure they werent missing out on any part of his tale. Obviously, he wasnt too concerned about the fact he may be in mortal danger.

As he ran, Alssonus looked back to see a group of tall, burly men, arrayed in long tunics and furs, and armed, break out into the ravine. Shouting in some guttural tongue, they spotted him and his new companions, and began to pursue.Alssonus shouted out "Fentor speed me!" and put on a burst of speed.Ahead, the ravine took a sudden dip, which the adventurer tumbled down, legs flailing for ground. With a grunt of exertion, he crashed down and then hauled to his feet, looking down the steeply-angled ravine, which plunged to the beach.The entirety of crescent-shaped stretch of sand could be seen from his vantage point, as well as the high, jagged cliffs around it, and the soaring, stabbing tower of stone.Several long dinghies were beached upon the surf, with more bearded, large men like the ones pursuing him. Farther out in the bay, he could discern the long, dragon-prowed, red-sailed ships which he recognized as Radothite pirate-ships.In the east, dawn tinged the sky with arcs of lavender light, promising a bright day ahead.With one last glance over his shoulder at his followers, he began to careen down towards the beach.He turned once more to see